Three Minnesota patients involved in a national outbreak of fungal meningitis are doing “quite well,” a Minnesota Department of Health spokesman said Tuesday, Oct. 9.

Meanwhile, health officials have directed a few hundred patients in Minnesota who received the injected medication at the heart of the outbreak to see their doctors for evaluation of symptoms, said Buddy Ferguson, the health department spokesman.

The recommendations, however, don’t mean that health officials expect the tally of cases in Minnesota to grow into the triple digits.

“The people in this group who received the injection are being treated for pain in most cases,” Ferguson said. “So, the difference between what they had been experiencing and what they could possibly be experiencing as a result of the injection can be subtle.”

“We’re being very conservative about making sure that anybody who might develop symptoms … is seen by a physician and evaluated,” he said. “It wouldn’t be surprising if we had some additional cases, but it’s a big step from being referred for evaluation to being identified as having meningitis.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday that 119 patients nationally have developed fungal meningitis infections after being injected with the implicated steroid product from New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass. The outbreak has included patients in 11 states and is being blamed for 10 deaths.

This form of meningitis is not considered infectious.

The implicated steroid was injected by pain clinics locally at Medical Advanced Pain Specialists in Edina, Fridley, Shakopee and Maple Grove as well as Minnesota Surgery Center in Edina and Maple Grove. The health department has contacted almost all of the 833 local patients who received the recalled steroid, Ferguson said.

A spokeswoman for the pain clinics did not return a phone call seeking comment.

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